ECONOMY

Moody’s Investors Service says the U.S. risks losing its top AAA credit rating if it defaults on its debts–even for a short period of time. The service states Congress needs to find a way to raise the nation’s debt limit soon to stop the worst from happening.

Missed Debt Payment Could Mean Fundamental Rating Change

In an interview with Bloomberg News on June 21, Moody’s senior credit officer, Steven Hess, explained that a missed debt payment could result in a fundamental change in the U.S. credit rating.

Following a string of security breaches on three major organizations–Lockheed Martin Inc, Google Inc. and Sony Corp (twice in their case)–Citigroup was next in line as hackers compromised the security of over 200,000 credit card accounts. Along with this comes news that leading economic experts predict a 15% chance the U.S. economy could fall into another recession. An upside amid all the recent bad news is that we’ve experienced a drop in oil prices, which has translated to slightly cheaper gas.

Citi Security Breach Prompts Stricter Standards

The recession may be officially over, but Americans are still hurting financially. The Department of Labor reports hiring was down last month, and the disappointing news had a ripple effect on the economy as the stock market fell this week. The good news is it’s national doughnut day, and who doesn’t love doughnuts?

Sony Gets Hacked…Again

A bill to increase the federal debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion was rejected in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. This symbolic 318-97 vote (all Republicans and 82 Democrats opposed the bill) was a message that Congress would not increase the federal borrowing limit unless it is linked to a deficit-reduction plan.

Lawmakers Say Deficit-Reduction Crucial to Debt Limit Increase

On Thursday, a group of 17 Republican senators accused Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner of overstating warnings about the U.S. government’s debt default. After Geithner announced in mid-May that the U.S. had reached its debt ceiling, he also discussed the challenge of satisfying creditors before the government would completely default 11 weeks later. Republicans say his warnings about default are exaggerated.

Senators Say Treasury Can Easily Satisfy Creditors

A new USA Today/Gallup Poll found that Americans are taking a big hit at the pump due to the major increase in gas prices. The poll found that more than 50 percent of Americans have had to make substantial adjustments to their daily finances to compensate for the costs.

Hike in Gas Costs Hindering Many Areas of Daily Life

According to the FDIC failed banks list, 40 banks had failed in the U.S. by May 6, 2011. Including the banks that had failed from 2008 to 2010, the total number of failures had reached 362. The financial crisis is to blame for the hundreds of banks that were forced to close, but now that we’ve exited the recession (at least officially), what will it take for these failures stop?

Bank Failures Have Slowed but Still Continue

The Treasury Department has announced that the U.S. government hit the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling on Monday. Though the U.S. economy has hit the debt ceiling, it has not yet defaulted. However, it is expected to do so on Aug. 2, which gives lawmakers 11 weeks to set a plan in motion to avoid an ill fate.

Cutting Spending, Raising Taxes Considered to Avoid Default

There’s no doubt the Great Recession, which officially occurred from Dec. 2007 to June 2009, has severely impacted the economy. It has left millions struggling to find a job, hold onto their homes and keep food on the table.

But a recent IRS report revealed that though the recession has created many challenges, American households had already been struggling. In fact, middle-class incomes have been stuck in neutral for at least an entire generation.

The stock market and oil prices have both made noted adjustments following news that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces on Sunday night. Investors, reacting favorably to the news issued by President Barack Obama, responded with a reasonable increase in shares and noted slip in crude prices.

Bin Laden’s Death Prompts Stock Reactions